Cold
by Trevor Is A Good Guy
Summary: "It gets really cold up here doesn't it, Corporal?" "Yes, it really does."
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Read and review please and thank you! 3

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His eyes shot open and the sound of his heavy breathing entered inside his ears. His eyes were normally sharp and focused but this time they were wide opened and fidgety as he stared at the ceiling above him. As the last few images that flashed in his mind slowly faded, his breathing returned to normal. He felt his sweat trickle down from his forehead to the side of his head then he realized that the rest of his exposed body was giving off small amounts of sweat as well; they left a cold trail on his skin as they slid towards his bed and the breeze coming in from his bedroom window on his right were making him feel even colder; he closed his eyes to find his centre and to calm himself down. He managed to pull himself together and sat upright from his bed to look outside his window; the moon was still alight in the sky and he had only slept for a few hours before his nightmare woke him up. He was not the kind of person to dwell on regretting anything because he knows that things happen and sometimes they really do not go as intended, but this time he could not escape that regret.

The wind howled louder and colder that the shutters of his window moved uncontrollably and his sweat had already gone, only leaving its coldness. He stood up from his bed barefoot, disregarding the prickling cold stone floors under his feet, and motioned towards the window to close it. After pulling the right shutter, he looked out from the left side even though the banging shutter intermittently gave him the view outside. He looked up at the sky and saw nothing but dark clouds that were nearly impossible to see and the faint light of the moon behind them. His sight slowly made its way downwards to the overhang directly below his window and the sight of it triggered him to pull out his arm and push open the left shutter to a stop. He moved even closer towards the window and cocked his head through it to follow the path on his left-hand side where the overhang leads. The wind made his fringe cover some of his view but he kept his eyes focused. In contrast to that concentration, he grabbed his Survey Corps cloak on the dresser right next to the window then pushed himself up to get through the window without giving it much thought.

"Hey Commander, look at that; who's that up there?"

"It's just Levi,"

"And this is not an unusual occurrence to you whatsoever?"

"He usually goes up there at night; I don't think he's been there for a while since she died."

"Oh. Well he should have at least got himself a shirt on,"

"Just leave him be, Hanji."

He sat up there at the rooftop on his usual place, against a blocked out window of an attic. There was also a roof above the window so aside from the window that covered his back against the wind; the roof also covered his head for when it rains. Once he was relaxed in his position, he just realized that he had no top on and he wasn't even wearing his cloak, he was just holding it. Even if he was sheltered from the wind, the night's atmosphere itself was prickling his body.

"It gets really cold up here doesn't it, Corporal?"

Levi's body stiffened then he quickly turned his head to his left; his heart sank when he saw no one, nevertheless he stared towards that direction despite knowing fully that there was something missing in his field of view. He sighed and loosened himself up, stretching his legs outward and slumped back against the window behind him which made his cloak fall off. He adjusted himself more comfortably with his back upright against the window and picked up his cloak; he raised it in front of him with the front facing him then he turned to his left and spread it as if he was putting it on somebody, but the cloak just fell down again making the Wings of Freedom on the back of his cloak visible.

"Yes, it really does," he spoke to no one, then closed his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: By the way I've only watched the anime and have yet to read the manga, I go page hopping sometimes on the wiki so if there are inaccuracies please let me know!

Don't forget to review after reading! 3

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Districts inside Wall Sina were a paradise compared to the ones in Rose and Maria. They were far from harm during Titan attacks and lives at ease without thinking much about the lack of resources. Sometimes people from the outside can get in, but only for trading purposes and they can't go anywhere further than the port or trading centres. One of those "lucky" people today was a pig farmer, he was also a butcher and was great in both trade that even the districts of the innermost wall has a high demand in his goods, but even if that was so, he was still not allowed beyond the trading centres. Today he brought her daughter to help out, she was just a child of five but he thought it best to train her early. Many crates, baskets, and other cargo were being brought in and out of cargo ships and this fascinated the young girl. She sat atop a crate away from where her father was but near enough to make her way back to him, from there he watched trading before her eyes.

"Hey you! What are you doing up there!" a fisherman grabbed the girl's arm.

"I-I was just looking at the trade!"

"Well, do it on another crate and get off mine!"

Shaken by the fisherman's outburst, she slid down from the crate and almost hurt herself. She jogged as far away as she could from the fisherman, but during her escape she has lost track of her father. She forced herself to charge get back to the traders but she was shooed away until she was far from the trading centre and was near the district proper. Wall Sina was an overwhelming place for anyone from the outer walls, what more of a child of five years old no bigger than an average man's leg?

"P-papa, where are you?" she mumbled to herself as she muffled her cries by biting her auburn hair that extends right to her shoulders so not as to bring too much attention; her father had told her that some people here don't like people like them so it was best not to cause a fuss because she will never know who these people would be.

She made her way through the wave of people going to and fro; it was almost unbelievable that she hadn't been pushed down by those people who kept their pace with their heads held high. She was frightened by all the adults passing her by, they were big and mighty and didn't seem to bother to look down, which made her think about the Titans outside the walls. She had always been scared by them, what child wouldn't be when they have been introduced to the horror they have to live with?

After some time she managed to break away from the crowd of people and into an alleyway, the sun was already setting by then which made her worry, she had been separated from her father since this afternoon and she didn't know what kind of people would appear at night, she's been told by her mother that as dark as the night goes, the people who prefers to dwell in it are too. What was worse is that she didn't realize that she had been walking aimlessly deeper into the alleyway and everything was getting darker.

"Over there! Get her!" an angry voice called out in the distance behind her. The little child panicked, she didn't think she did anything wrong apart from getting herself lost, now she could hear a handful of men running towards her direction, so she hid behind a stack of big boxes that rested on the side of the alleyway.

"Go on, they haven't seen me I'll stay behind here for a while," she overheard someone say. She pulled herself further and hid behind a lone box behind her box fort. From there she could see someone hide behind the stack of boxes that she had previously hid behind. The figure looked like he was some older kid but she thought he seemed shorter than what she normally sees them to be. The horde of angry men that she heard shouting earlier turned out to be the Military Police, she was relieved that they weren't angry and looking for her but her relief was short lived when she realized that they must be looking for that person in front of her if he had hid this way, she thought he was one of those dangerous people in the dark. Trying to coop herself even further, she made the boxes behind her creak which immediately got the attention of the person near her so she shut her eyes, bit her hair to muffle her cries and prayed for her safety.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing the person she was just scared of scared her even more, his voice was deep and serious that sent chills to her spine and she thought that this was the end for her.

"P-please don't kill me," she squeaked and her eyes remained shut. "I just got lost I'm not even from here,"

The boy stayed silent and she could feel him stare at her, she was equally scared and curious to know who it was in front of him, so she slowly opened one eye and the moonlight above them helped her se clearly who it was. Though his fringe covered the upper half of his eyes, she could see they were sharp and focused, and the fact that they were focused on her made her feel uncomfortable and scared.

"Come with me," he told her as he stood up.

"M-mama told me n-not to talk to strangers or c-come with them w-when they tell you t-to,"

"You already talked to one," he told her, her cheeks flushed as she felt a little embarrassed.

"Y-you're a criminal aren't you?" she asked him. "Th-that's why the M-Military Police were a-after you."

"Observant girl," he remarked, which also sounded more like praise. "But I am too; you know they're the Military Police and you hid back here, lost kids would usually come to them for help, so you're aware that they would think you were a criminal too."

"I'm not a criminal," was all she managed to say.

"So am I, but the Military Police won't listen to what we have to say," then he turned around and walked off. She sat there behind her box as she watched him walk off, the moonlight above helped her see through the once dark alley but the visibility her sight covered was limited and the boy who just talked to her was disappearing. Before she realized it, she was on her feet and was jogging towards him; she walked next to him and held on to his tattered cloak.

"I'm Petra," she told him.

"Levi,"

"Please don't kill me," she said once again, but was more of a request than a plea this time.

"I only wish to kill the Titans within the walls."

"Th-there are Titans with us?" she panicked.

"You're well informed so far, hopefully you'll understand when you get older," he ruffled her hair.

"It gets really cold out at night, doesn't it?" Petra told him as she rubbed her hands together for heat.

"Yes, it really does," Levi looked down at the little girl beside him, moving closer towards him to warm her up some more.

"Here," he said as he untied his cloak and placed it around her. Petra watched him as he did so then looked behind at the cloak she was now wearing. It was bigger and longer for her and a few inches from the hem touched the ground as they walked.

"Look, it's just like if I get married," she said ecstatically as if she had forgotten the trouble she ran into earlier. Levi said nothing else along the way.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I didn't know your profile picture would be your story's default cover and my creepy Moffat display picture sure as hell do not suit this story so I looked for a suitable one... credits to Lavendra from deviantART (/art/Fanart-To-The-Moon-323712884) for the cover. Originally a To the Moon fanart, but River and Johnny kinda reminded me of Levi and Petra's appearance.. so.. yeah!

Here's the new chapter, enjoy the story. Don't forget to review!

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It was already evening and the ceremony for joining the Survey Corps just started. Commander Erwin was in charge of the Survey Corps, he stepped in the middle of the stage to explain to the recently graduated trainees the corps's objectives and expectations. He seemed strict and uptight as he talked in front of the trainees and he was certainly not one to sugar-coat things, he told them that joining the Survey Corps will mean to literally offer up their hearts to humanity; needless to say, most people talked to each other about choosing the Garrison while the top ten obviously went for the Military Police.

Petra was one of the top ten of her batch and she was certain that she'd join the Military Police, being in the inner wall means that she would be able to survive, her family would be too and everyone from her village would be proud of her. At least that was so until she caught a glimpse of the rest of the Survey Corps that stood behind Commander Erwin, at the stage right. The memory that she had almost forgotten came back to her, one of the Survey Corps member was her saviour back from when she was a girl; Levi.

She remembered how he risked looking through the windows of one Military Police station to another to find where Petra's father could have reported her disappearance and when he did, he still made sure to get her as close as possible to the station even if he was exposing himself. Before she could thank him one last time, however, he had already gone so she continued to the station to be reunited with her father. Breaking from her flashback, she looked at the man among the other members of the Survey Corps to confirm that it was really him; he didn't change much at all, still the same stern and disinterested look, but he gained height... more or less.

"What are you laughing about?" the girl next to Petra whispered to her, she was one of the top ten as well as one of her friends.

"Nothing! I just remembered something."

"Oh, alright," she replied. "I don't think now's the right time for laughs though, the Commander is talking about other people dying."

"..any still willing to risk their lives, remain here." Commander Erwin announced in front of the recently graduated trainees.

Petra was a hundred percent sure about joining the Military Police, but with Levi's appearance she wasn't as sure anymore and she didn't even know why she would have second-thoughts. She just wanted to thank him for what he did all those years ago, she could thank him even if she was with the Military Police; and then she remembered Levi talking about killing the Titans within the walls. He said she would understand when she grew older, she knows now that he was talking about the corrupt people within the walls, mercilessly devouring the lives and hopes of those below them just like the Titans do. She knows why only the top ten gets to be in the Military Police even though they should be in the Survey Corps fighting Titans, the inner wall wants to ensure their safety above anyone else just because they think they are above everyone else. She knew all of this but decided to join the Military Police for the benefit of her and her family.

"Are you willing to offer your beating heart for humanity?"

But now there's Levi, he would be disappointed to know that she didn't understand what he meant at all; she did understood his meaning, however, and choosing to still be in the Military Police despite knowing all that would disappoint him even more. She would be one of those Titans that Levi wanted to be rid off, she thought that he might regret saving her that night, she knows that he wouldn't do something like that but analogically, he would want to be rid of her.

"..anyone who wishes to join another branch is dismissed."

"Let's go, Petra," her friend told her.

"N-no," she replied. "I'm staying. I want to join the Survey Corps,"

"Are you crazy? You said you wanted to join the Military Police? For your family, remember?" another one of her friends asked.

"I know, but I have to consider myself too."

"What do you mean?"

"If I wanted to breed pigs, I should have stayed at home instead."

The time for deciding was almost up, her friends looked at her as if she had gone crazy, and she thought maybe she has, but she trained for offering her heart to humanity, not to her family or the corrupt people in Wall Sina. Her friends finally realized that she wasn't joking at all and walked off wearing worried looks on their faces. Petra worried about them as well but it was because they didn't understand what she meant.

"I welcome everyone here to the Survey Corps."

Petra looked around her and there were a few people that stayed behind, probably around ten at most; she recognized some of them but hasn't really interacted with any of them. Their faces were tough and serious unlike Petra's and she knows it for herself. She bit her lower lip and could feel her teeth chatter in nervousness. She looked at her fellow recruits once again but didn't crane her neck around, instead she looked at them from the edge of her eyes and felt intimidated when she realized that there was no doubt in their hearts about joining the Survey Corps.

Contemplating that she need not compare herself to anyone since they all differ from each other and their reasons and that it doesn't matter whether or not those reasons are big or small, she resumed her attention back to her commanding officer. The others were already leaving behind Commander Erwin and Petra put her attention one last time in searching for Levi through the crowd of Survey Corps members. She only caught a glimpse of him right before he exited the stage, and she could have sworn his eyes chanced upon hers for a moment there.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: just a short one, sorry, uni is killing me!

reviews are much appreciated! :]

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"W-What? An excursion? This soon?" Petra turned to her newfound friend that towered over her, and looked considerably older for his age, while the others were dispersing and going back to their business and so was Petra and her friend.

"Unfortunately yeah, you heard the commander," he replied.

"But we've only been here for a couple of weeks,"

"Crime never rests, Petra," he grinned at her. "And so does justice!"

"You're so corny, Oulo, did you know that?" she glared at him.

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, waving his hand in front of her. "You say that every chance that you get."

"Because you say corny things every chance that you get!"

"Alright you lovebirds, let's head inside already." A tall blonde man who had his hair tied into a folded ponytail stretched his head between Petra and Olou with a mocking grin on his face and once he saw their irked faces and blushing cheeks he quickly pulled back and walked away with his hands in his pockets while grinning in success.

"Ack! Eld, no way!" Petra yelped and left Olou to follow behind Eld.

"H-hey why did you have to say that and run away so fast?" Olou scratched his head then dragged his feet to follow them. She walked next to Petra and told her,

"I have feelings too you know!" Petra stuck out her tongue and walked ahead alongside Eld instead.

"You'd rather walk with Ponytail?" Olou pointed out, "I suppose other than Corporal Levi you like him too."

"Well I can't say I'm surprised." Eld smiled.

"Ugh," she groaned while quickening her pace then turned her head back to Eld and Olou and added, "Why did I befriend you guys?"

Eld and Oluo were exchanging smirks when they took notice of where Petra was walking,

"O-Oi Petra," Eld called out. "Watch where you're—"

"Ah!" something hard poked her forehead and when it felt quite sting on her forehead when she rubbed it. "You stupid— C-Corporal Levi?" she stood there in shock, after two weeks in the Survey Corps this was the first time she had seen him face to face.

"Any problem here?" Levi asked, looking Petra in the eye. He was holding a broom in his hands, which happened to be what hit her forehead, and was in his cleaning outfit.

"N-No, nothing." Petra replied. "D-did you want anything, Corporal?"

He glared at her, with his eyes piercing through which made her feel uncomfortable but knew that that's just how he is when talking to other people, he'd observe them straight in the eye and think on things, she's seen it for the past few days.

"No, carry on what you were doing," he replied and walked past her. Eld and Olou looked at Levi as he walked by, eyes focused where he was going and not even batting an eyelid. Once he was at the distance, Eld spoke up to break the silence,

"You know, for a small guy, he certainly brings about bad aura with him."

"Rude too," Oluo added. "Did you see that Petra, he didn't even apologize!"

"Hey! That's no way to talk to the Corporal." Petra pointed a finger at Eld and Oluo as if she was threatening them. "Besides, I was the one who wasn't looking at where I was going."

"Tch. Your concern doesn't count; you have a crush on Corporal Levi." Oluo remarked.

"That's not true!" Petra defended. "Now if you'll excuse me!" she didn't linger for a reply and turned her heel and went on ahead.

"What a hot head," Eld remarked. "I don't know what you see in her, man," then he tapped Oluo on the shoulder and walked off to follow Petra to the base.

"H-hey, I don't know what you're talking about!"


End file.
